Own it for less than they rent it.
One license. Unlimited clients. Your server. No metering, no per-seat math, no percentage of your payments.
The first fifty accounts get 50% off, and that price stays locked for as long as you keep the license. It's my thank-you for trusting a new tool while it's still getting its polish.
FOUNDING50Plugin
Best if you already run WordPress and just need the CRM.
Renews at $149/yr · updates, support, every feature.
Includes
- Full Mankai CRM plugin on your WordPress site
- Booking, calendar, session types, and availability
- Proofing galleries, delivery, print shop, watermarks
- Contracts, quotes, e-signatures, and PDFs
- Invoices via Stripe/PayPal — Mankai adds 0% on top
- Email inbox sync + 38 automated email templates
- Client portal on your domain
- Unlimited clients, sessions, galleries, and invoices
Does not include the public photography website theme.
Get the pluginPlugin + Theme
Best if you want the CRM and a complete public site together.
Renews at $199/yr · plugin + theme licenses.
Everything in Plugin, plus
- Mankai Photography Theme for your public website
- Portfolio, investment, about, and contact pages
- Booking pages wired to your session types
- 3 homepage layouts and built-in dark mode
- Pricing on your site synced from the CRM
- Theme updates included with your license
You install both on hosting you control. No page builder required.
Get the bundleSetup + Migration
Best if you are switching tools or want it live without DIY setup.
Then $199/yr for plugin + theme · year one included.
Everything in Plugin + Theme, plus
- Done-with-you install on your host (or a fresh WordPress site)
- Your branding, logo, colors, and typography applied
- Session types, packages, intake forms, and booking flow configured
- Payment processor connected and tested
- Email templates and automations wired to your workflow
- Data migration from HoneyBook, Pixieset, spreadsheets, or galleries
- Live walkthrough when you go live + 30 days priority support
After year one, renew at the bundle rate. Your data stays on your server either way.
Book setupEvery tier includes every CRM feature — no per-client fees, no payment surcharges, no feature gates. Renewals cover updates and support; your install and data stay yours if you stop. During early access all sales are final, so watch the videos, read the docs, and buy when you are sure.
What you get at each price
Same CRM everywhere. The difference is whether you bring the theme, the setup, and the migration yourself.
| Included | Plugin $149/yr |
Plugin + Theme $199/yr |
Setup + Migration $499 then $199/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Mankai CRM plugin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Photography website theme | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public site + client portal on your domain | Portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited clients, sessions, galleries | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Install and WordPress configuration | DIY | DIY | ✓ |
| Session types, forms, and booking wired up | DIY | DIY | ✓ |
| Migration from old CRM or galleries | DIY | DIY | ✓ |
| Live onboarding with the developer | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Priority support after launch | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| ✓ included · DIY = you set it up (docs + support included) · ✕ not in this tier. Plugin tier still runs the client portal on your domain; the theme is your marketing site. | |||
What a year actually costs
Same job, five ways to pay for it. Bars drawn to scale from each product's public pricing page, verified June 2026.
And after five years of the pairing you've spent about $4,620 and own nothing. Five years of Mankai is about $745 to $995 and you own all of it.
What it really costs to run
Self-hosted means you bring the hosting, which most photographers already pay for. Here's the whole bill, nothing hidden.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mankai CRM license | $149/yr | Updates + support. Unlimited clients, sessions, galleries, invoices. |
| Mankai Photography Theme (optional) | +$50/yr | Complete public website. $199 bundle total. |
| WordPress hosting | ~$60–180/yr | Any decent host ($5–15/mo). Already have a site? Then this is $0 extra. |
| Domain | ~$15/yr | Already owned by anyone with a website. |
| Payment processing | Stripe/PayPal rates | Standard processor rates everywhere. Mankai adds 0% on top. |
| Realistic total with existing hosting: ≈ $149–199/yr. Starting from zero: ≈ $209–379/yr. | ||
The subscriptions Mankai replaces
These are good products with real teams. The comparison isn't about quality. It's about what renting costs and what you own at the end. Many studios run two of them at once.
| Tool | Role | Per year (annual billing) | 5 years | You own it at the end? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mankai + existing hosting | The whole system, on your site | $149–199 | ~$745–995 | Yes: site, data, client records, galleries |
| HoneyBook | CRM, booking, invoices, contracts | $348 / $588 / $1,308 | $1,740–6,540 | No |
| Pixieset Suite | Galleries, site, studio manager | $336 / $456 / $660 | $1,680–3,300 | No |
| Studio Ninja | CRM, booking, invoicing | $160 / $270 / $400 | $800–2,000 | No |
| ShootProof | Galleries, contracts, invoices | ~$100–600 | $500–3,000 | No |
| Common pairing: HoneyBook Essentials + Pixieset Starter | The "CRM + galleries" stack | ≈ $924 | ≈ $4,620 | No |
| Prices from each product's public pricing page, verified June 2026. HoneyBook adds card fees of 2.9% + $0.25 (3.4% Amex/card-on-file); Mankai uses your own Stripe/PayPal account at standard rates with nothing added. Five-year figures assume today's prices stay flat. | ||||
Four things no subscription can sell you
Your client experience.
Booking page, gallery, portal, invoice, every email. On your domain, with your logo, end to end.
Your data.
Clients, sessions, contracts, payment records, galleries. Rows in your WordPress database, exportable any day.
Your website.
The CRM lives inside the site that markets you. One login, one brand, one system.
No lock-in.
Stop paying and you lose updates and support. Not your business records, and not a working plugin.
Asked before buying
What happens if I don't renew?
The plugin keeps working and your data stays put. You lose updates and support. That's unusual in this industry, so I'll say it plainly: renewal buys momentum, not permission.
Isn't self-hosting harder than SaaS?
Sometimes, yes. If WordPress already runs your site, Mankai is one plugin install plus a setup wizard. If you'd rather not touch any of it, that's exactly what the $499 Setup + Migration tier is for (renews at $199/yr).
What about hosting, backups, and updates?
Your host handles uptime and backups, and most do it automatically. Mankai ships updates through the standard WordPress updater with a license key.
Are there transaction fees?
Stripe and PayPal charge their normal rates. Mankai adds nothing. There's also full support for recording manual payments like checks, cash, and Venmo without any processor at all.
What if you get hit by a bus?
Fair question for a one-person company. The plugin is GPL, the code runs on your server, and your data lives in your database, so nothing goes dark overnight. That's the structural advantage of self-hosted: continuity doesn't depend on a company's payroll.
Why is it so much cheaper than HoneyBook?
Because you're bringing your own hosting and there's no venture math to feed. One developer, low overhead, software that costs what it costs.
Can I try it first? What's the refund policy?
Straight answer: during early access, all sales are final. No refunds yet. That's exactly why I'm not rushing you. Watch the walkthroughs on YouTube, read the docs, and email me your questions before you buy. When you do buy, your data is in your own database from day one, so you're never trapped either way.
What's support actually like?
Email, answered by me, every day, 8 AM to 2 PM Central (Wisconsin time). I'm one person, so it's not a 24/7 call center, but it's the actual developer reading your message, usually same-day.
I'm not a photographer. Does this still fit?
Yes. Mankai ships a second mode for project businesses (designers, developers, videographers): projects and milestones instead of sessions and galleries, intake forms, file exchange, and the same quotes, invoices, documents, inbox, and automation. Same license, different screens.
"I grew up watching renewal emails land in a photographer's inbox. I write mine like I remember that." · Elijah